09.26.06

Where else would you expect to meet more Nepalis than in the
right-next-door neighbor, India? Thanks to the open border and the age-old civilizational — and ecological, geographical, cultural,
ethnographical, historical and political ties —

A Gorkha army family takes a ride in downtown Lucknow.

Nepalis are everywhere in India from the snow-capped mountains of Himachal to Uttarkhand and Sikkim-Darjeeling to North East and the vast Indian plains. Their heart may still be Nepali, but they are mainly of two types – ethnic Nepalis who are now naturalized citizens of India and Pravashi Nepalis. Plus the Nepali expatriates.

Put them together, they should number more than half the present population of Nepal — 27 million, although exact head-count data doesn’t exist. The Indian Nepalis can also be called Gorkhalis, although the word Gorkhali denotes one who originally hails from the ancient state of Gorkha, which later grew in shape and size. Around 1815 A.D., the Nepali state extended from Teesta River in the east to Kangra in the west. After the 1815 Sugauli Treaty between the East
India Company and the Rana rulers in Kathmandu, it got its present-day size from Mechi to Mahakali.

Assamese Nepali dances while her folks chat at a party in Delhi.

Indian Nepalis at a Thapa get together in Delhi.

A view from Paschim Killa Kangra, Himachal.

Delhi-based Nepal embassy officials wait for their new PM Koirala.

A Pokhareli Gurung family in Delhi.

The South especially Bangalore and its vicinity are fast emerging as a
hot destination for young Nepali yuppies and zippies. And away from
mainland India across the Bay of Bengal, I met another whole new world
of Nepalis. There, at the gateway to Burma and Thailand, I
chit-chatted with Nepalis raising water buffaloes along the humid
Brahmaputra basin in Assam. I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into
them in what’s often referred to as the forgotten Indian frontiers of
Arunachal Pradesh and across restive NorthEast.

Haryana based Nepali community members at the april 9, 2006 demo in Delhi.

Family of late master Mitra Sen Thapa in Himachal. Pashupati temple by Yamuna, Delhi (right).

The Nepali diaspora in India is as incredible as it’s intriguing, as
diverse as it is factional — or very rarely united. The
Darjeeling-Sikkim region, which has contributed so much for the
promotion of Nepali art, music, films, culture and literature, is
sometimes more Nepali than Nepal itself. From Kangra to Teesta — the
short-lived ‘Greater Nepal’ region — and from Mumbai to Goa and
Delhi, I came across different facets of what we call Nepaliness.
That’s why now I bet I have understood Nepal better — although I have
a whole new Explore Nepal assignments that are in the waiting as I
hold on to my career in journalism.

Nepali origin Thapa children in dharamshala.

Nepal’s activists with Shillong, Meghalaya, boys.

Okhla Pravashi Nepali wait for water tanker.

Paschim Killa Kangra in Himachal, the scene of Gorkha battle in 1806 AD.

Meantime, I shouldn’t forget to share my experience of meeting the
third — and a bit more interesting and promising — type of Nepalis.
While going on that Nepali-spotting spree across the length and
breadth of India, I also ran into Nepalis (read Nepali nationals)
serving with the United Nations and other international organizations
or the foreign service of Nepal government or media. On the whole,
whatever their profession or the way of life they have adopted,
wherever they may have landed, one thing that was very striking
amongst all the types was this: the lingo they speak and their
cultural and historical identity, that is Nepali. Before taking my
finger off the keyboard, I think I must thank popular Nepali band 1974
AD for making it happen.

I mean making ‘Jasogara Jegara Jatasukai Laijau Malai, Yo Man Ta Mero
Nepali Ho [Do whatever¦ whatever, wherever you take me, this heart is
Nepali]’ happen. The Indian Nepali diaspora — or the global one for
that matter — will be there with you for the much-needed chorus for a
long time to come. By now, I am sure I can vouch for most of them.

Pravashi Nepali and son at a demo in Delhi recently. Thapa girls in Delhi.

That a really good job, the pictures you have taken shows how Nepalis are struggling against the poverty and for the better life. Due to the lack of unemployment and peace millions of Nepalis are suffering like this. Wel done.

Great job done! I just came to know about this site thru someone. I would really like to thank you for putting in so much of efforts.

For all Nepali bhai n baini who are complaining of this page being dominated by Thapas, plz dont feel so. It really doesnt matter who is Thapa, Gurung, Rai or whatever, we havent forgotten that we are Nepali. And thats the main concern.

Thank Surender for making this page so exciting and knowledgable at the same time :-)

hami nepali bhayar sadhai bhari bhachi rahana paum. purkha la rakheko nam ra kam hami khahilae nabirsau.
dharsan(namate)
actually i feel great when i open this web page and see the lot of nepalese in this site and also seing the nepalese community and the nepalese people ever love the country folk songs and enjoying it by dancing and also doing the jobs over there with loyality and faithfully.
but i mean to know that we nepalese people are doing there in india with great faith and honesty but also why we are being hurts , why we are being beaten up by the indian people and why they always want to donimate the nepalese people .
ha i just donot want to blame the indian because it is ours fortune to have it .
any way thanx to the god
who has made us in unity

Great job Surender jiu indeed….
Some of these pictures show us that our community has to come forward and get together to help our brothers and sisters who are in trouble and really need help in India.
Surender jiu, i would appreciate if you could cover some more nepalis settled in other parts of India.
Thanks

Hi Mr Photographer, Let me thank you for your great effort in taking these photos. I am an Australian but I have married a Nepalese guy from Kathmandu and I am proud to say I do have a fair understanding of the history and the culture of Nepal.
I could feel that some of the people here are not happy about Nepalese working in India!!?? Which I find is strange because if they go and work in USA, Japan, China etc, why is it considered so low to work in India? At least they can support themselves, not go hungry and have got the opportunity that Nepal somehow hasn’t been able to provide!! India hasn’t grabbed them by the neck and dragged them to work there!!
I’m sorry if you find this offending but this a neutral view!! I think anybody with an understanding about the cultural resemblance of both these neighbouring countries would say the same thing!! Well, no hard feelings and nothing personal guys!! I think Nepalis are really brave and capable of surviving in the harshest of conditions and these pictures certainly portrait that!!

It’s really challenging to all nepali who are living far from their homeland. what have we done so far for our people? Thousands of our brothers and sisters are being slaved in India.. Not getting proper paid is another disaster factor for our people. Our country is fighting for constitution and making policies but people are being slaved day by day?

I am so proud to be Nepali n its so good to see the pictures of my people but do add some other Nepali community pictures beside Thapa coz they are not only the one. What about Rai N Subba. Since i am from Darjeeling i request u to put short articles about how Darjeeling became the part of India so the people in the world will come to know us. Beside this do put some pictures of our dresses. Lastely its easy to comment from the chair but the hard work u people have done is really something to be praised worthy, so as a Nepali dam proud to be I thank you all from the core of my Heart.

here i am not come with the view to make the comment , but i come here with the view to say that please keep on voting in the indian idol for the fianl round for prashant tamang, if we have some faith for the country and for the sake of being nepalese please do it , it is the right time to some for the nepalese, and for our proud

nice but untidy job from him,, he want to show nepalese in india..but darjelling ,shillong,himachal,assamand many more are part of nepal.. india have to leave and freee this state …and should be given freedom,,beacuse these belong to nepal and nepali people and gurkha community…..the nepali political leader have to work again in sugali treaty , its should be make more simple and easy for better relationship with britain and nepal…they were not be involved india….because this treaty with nepal not with indian…ALL nepalese who born in india o other country have to give equal right as nepali born inside nepal..Nepal government should allow to give double nationality ,its help so much for development of nepall…..so ifeel sad for sahid and nepali people and myself being nepali..

proud to be nepali… we wanna see a big nepal once again ,not broken so plz our political leader should be work on it…

Thank you Surendra! for your efforts to explore and display the real pictures of Nepalese people living in India. It helps to create the feelings of solidiarity in the struggle of Nepalese people in foreign countries.

well picturized n nicely written.but it seems we don’t care about child labour,prostitution n drugs,where many nepalees are enggaged or traped.instead of commenting on cast(thapa,rai,limbu,chhetri,bahun……!!!???)lets fight with this menace.Phuyal jiu bastav ma tapai bdhai ko patra hunuhunchh.its my requst to highlight selling of our sisters at brothel,nepali children labour and use of drugs by our youth in your site.lastly i appeal to all gorkha/nepali(veer)fight these menace.

It’s always a good feeling to see our people, specially when we are hundreds of miles away from home. Even I’m this far, you people made me felt as if I’m at home. Thanks a lot and cheers. Keep up the good work.

hey whats that ? do u know smth about ethnic? nepal is between india and china and nepalese r from indian origin and mongolian origin and mixed between them. what about people from terai ? r not they nepali or wat? so its not easy to find nepali in india or world coz most of them look like indian too,so not only mongolian lookin people r nepali ,u know-4 jaat ra 36 barna ko fulbari- is nepal. so pls show indian lookin nepalese too from india or world dont do any racial discrimination.
you know this racial descrimination has laid Nepal as one of the least developed country. Take care

Thanks to the phalano.com for providing us the messageful photographs. When i saw the pictures i felt most of the pictures are representing the worse condition of the Nepales in the india. Many Nepali are migrated from Nepal and compailed to serve bad life. So, i heartly suggest to the Government of Nepal to some thing for Nepali unemployment people. Pls, create the job opportunities in Nepal. Nobody want to leave their country.

Wow, looking at the pics gave me the nostalgia, they are wonderful, great effort has been taken by the photographer, I feel proud to be a Nepali. And where ever we stand on this earth we should never loose our identity.Because we are who we are, we are what we are, and that is the way we should be.
Krishna Gurung india. Goa
i love nepal

Who so ever came up with this idea of phalano.com, I must say it is brilliant!! I am based out of Delhi but get to see and meet so many of our fellow Nepali folks across India in hotels, restaurants, offices and social get together.. It is nice to see how well Nepalese people integrate into the social fabric in every region and yet keep their identities alive. While this happens there is bound to be the fallouts which maybe favorable or unwanted.. We need to understand that there is beginning to every journey and where it leads is how we walk it. I am based in Delhi and am actually a Bengali born in terai belt of Nepal (Nepali by citezenship) and studied in Kalimpong, I feel completely connected with Nepal and the Darjeeling District and everytime I come across a fellow Nepali irrespective of his or her origins, this feeling gets stronger.. This is great forum and wish it all the success in bringing Nepali people across the world together..